I use ethnobotany to bring India’s medicinal plants into urban landscapes Ganesh Babu collects, studies and propagates his country’s Indigenous flora for their herbal and aesthetic qualities
N M
“I come from a village in India where life was always lived alongside plants. My grandparents and my mother had a tremendous knowledge of plants; they told me proverbs about them, and taught me what natural remedies to use to treat diseases.
So much inherited wisdom of this kind has already vanished. The displacement of tribal communities away from forests has led to a loss of knowledge and cultural identity. So, when I came to the University of Trans-Disciplinary Health Sciences and Technology in Bengaluru, I knew what I wanted to document.
In my work as a field botanist, I conduct botanical surveys in forests all over India with the help of local communities. My survey team includes doctors in traditional medicine who know the cultural significance of the plants that we work with.
We collect seeds and, very occasionally, stem cuttings. We have a rule-of-thumb that if we see a thousand seeds, we can collect one, because our collecting should be sustainable. We have now developed and documented techniques to propagate almost 800 wild species from seed, and have created an ethnomedicinal garden spanning 20 acres that showcases the vast array of plant species used in various traditional health practices.
We want to show that medicinal plants are aesthetic and beautiful, and to promote their use in urban landscapes. In Bengaluru, for instance, we advocated the planting of native trees, which provide shade, improve air quality and support local biodiversity. This has developed into a native-plant landscaping business at the university, with clients across the professional community.
I feel very happy that our work will directly benefit the community and the environment of the area and, ultimately, contribute to global wellness.”
Nature 631, 248 (2024)
doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-024-02186-y
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
This story originally appeared on: Nature - Author:Bianca Nogrady
